1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

I am writing to you today to urge you to fund disaster recovery through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), not the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE). ICE is the highest-funded law enforcement agency with an $85 billion budget, and under both Trump administrations, millions of dollars have been redirected from FEMA to ICE. Under Kristi Noem’s leadership, FEMA has repeatedly blocked and delayed critical aid to disaster survivors. Noem required her sign-off on FEMA spending over $100,000, which led to delays in aid and recovery for our state after Hurricane Helene. She is currently holding up $17 billion in disaster aid for communities across the country. Additionally, Noem plans to further cut FEMA disaster response and recovery staff by 50%. This could further delay aid and harm communities’ ability to recover from extreme weather. This cut would drastically impede the agency’s “ability to fulfill its legal obligation to help the nation respond to disasters.” North Carolina needs disaster relief funding, not a violent program that is tearing families apart, violently abusing communities, and killing immigrants and citizens. I urge you to vote no on any legislation that would fund ICE, and instead allocate that funding to disaster recovery for communities in our state.